Average wage needed to afford 2-bedroom apartment in Houston area: $17.81 per hour

A national group shows that Texas is among the states where a minimum wage worker may not be able to afford an apartment at a fair price.

The National Low Income Housing Coalition released its annual report on how much the hourly full-time worker must earn to afford a decent two-bedroom rental home at a fair market price, while spending no more than 30 percent of income on housing costs.

The report shows that the 2014 two-bedroom housing wage is $18.92. The national average is more than 2 1/2 times the federal minimum wage and 52 percent higher than it was in 2000, according to the coalition. The report found that in no state can a full-time minimum wage worker afford a one-bedroom or two-bedroom rental unit at fair market rent.

Texas is No. 22 on the list, which ranks state from most expensive to least. The state’s rates requires a housing wage of $16.77 for a two-bedroom apartment. The No. 1 spot went to Hawaii, where a wage of $31 an hour is required for a two-bedroom.

In Texas, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $872. In order to afford this level of rent and utilities, without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing, a household must earn $34,876 annually. The minimum wage of $7.25 would require a worker to work 93 hours per week to make a two-bedroom affordable, according to the report.

The estimated average wage for a renter in the state is $15.99.

In the Houston area, the wage required is slightly higher than the state average. The hourly wage necessary to afford a two-bedroom apartment is $17.81. That means the income needed to afford a two bedroom is $37,040.

The good news for Houston is that the average renter’s wage is above that rate, $19.80.